Chapter 5 fourth quarter
Katsushika Hokusai!Among thousands of ukiyo-e painters, and even all painters in Japan, he is a very famous superstar.The masterpiece "Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji" series has been included in history textbooks. In works such as "Red Fuji" and "The Great Wave off Kanagawa", the vibrant painting style is well-known to all women and children. It can be said that it is a genius representing Japan.
This evaluation was vividly reflected in the attitudes of newspapers and television towards Hokusai.Compared with Kitagawa Utamaro or Torii Kiyonaga, the same new discovery, related to Katsushika Hokusai, will be reported as big news.There are very few painters who can make the headlines of the newspapers, which is enough to prove that people pay great attention to Hokusai.
Naturally, the rush to publish art collections or research books has greatly satisfied the desire of Hokusai fans, but few people know about his life.Compared with Dongzhou Zhai Shaile, who created nearly 150 works in just ten months and then disappeared suddenly, Bei Zhai is ninety years old, and it is hard to imagine.Even if his paintings are outstanding, his life has few romantic mysteries to unearth, and it is difficult to attract curious eyes.
Therefore, there are many misunderstandings about Katsushika Hokusai, and "Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji" is one of them.In fact, most of the series are Hokusai's works after he was 70 years old. Looking back at his chronology, it is better to say that this is the aftertaste of his fame.Here is a brief summary of Hokusai's life.
Katsushika Hokusai was born in the ditch area of Honjo in the tenth year of Baoli (1760).In his early years, he was the adopted son of Nakajima Ise, the imperial mirror master of the shogunate. Later, he handed over the inheritance rights to his eldest son, and left to concentrate on painting.
In the seventh year of Ernong (1778), he became a disciple of the famous actor painter Haruaki Katsukawa, and painted under the name of Chunlang. In the sixth year of Kanzheng (1794), he was expelled from the school for some reason.After that, he stopped being a teacher and carried forward his personal painting style.With a creative career spanning over 70 years, the number of works is huge. After the age of 60, there are many brocade paintings. Before that, his main business was picture book or reader illustrations.
The "New Water Margin Painting" (1805), which he collaborated with Quting Maqin, was particularly successful, and thus ranked among the top painters.He also displayed a genius skill in hand-painting, and was as famous as his teacher Haruaki Katsukawa.
Katsushika Hokusai has many disciples and disciples, more than 200 disciples and grandchildren. "Hokusai Manga" is the basic teaching material for teaching a large number of disciples.
Bei Zhai still has the most anecdotes and anecdotes, which describe their strangeness and peculiarities.It is said that he moved 93 times and changed his number more than 30 times. He hated cleaning and almost lived on simple meals in restaurants, and he was indifferent to money.For him, painting is the only god, and everything else is nothing but dirt.
Katsushika Hokusai had one son and two daughters with his ex-wife, the eldest son Tonosuke (died after inheriting the Nakajima family), the eldest daughter Ami Yu (married to Hokusai’s disciple Yanagawa Shigenobu, and later divorced), the second daughter A Tetsu (good at painting, died young); and gave birth to a son and two daughters with his stepmother—the second son Saki Juro (adopted son of the Kase family, who later became a samurai), and the third daughter Arong (painter, nicknamed Ying, once married a businessman, and lived with Hokusai after divorce ), the fourth daughter Ayou (died young).There are six people in total.
Hokusai enjoyed a long life. When he died in the second year of Kayei (1849), all his children except Arong and Saki Juro had already passed away, and his later years could be described as lonely.Its tablet is enshrined in Asakusa Oathoji Temple.
Katsushika Hokusai's famous painting titles include: Chunlang, Gunma Pavilion, Kehou, Zongli, Hokusai, Chenzheng, Dai Dou, Weiyi, Painting Madman, Swastika, etc.
Dong Saeko felt a little uneasy.
Judging from the explanation alone, Katsushika Hokusai has no doubts.His life has long been thoroughly investigated by researchers from all walks of life, and it is afraid that there is little room for spies to intervene.His problem is exactly the opposite of the Suile incident where information is scarce, and it is different from the Suile incident now, and there is no clue at all to follow.
"Beizhai's secret agent said...it's really troublesome, brother Guofu is really whimsical."
Tsuda Ryohei let out a long sigh.At first he just wanted to laugh it off as nonsense, but Katsushika Hokusai did have more extraordinarily long trips than other painters.For example, he has entered and exited Nagoya twice, staying for more than two years in total.
The most important thing is that if you use the painter's position as a cover, no matter where you go, you won't arouse suspicion, which is absolutely ideal for spies.What's more, Hokusai is the heir to the imperial mirror master of the shogunate.The imperial mirror maker specially made mirrors for the general's house, so he was able to frequently enter and leave Da'ao...
It is not a fantasy to associate Katsushika Hokusai with the shogun's royal family.Moreover, this statement is admittedly far-fetched, but it can also explain why Katsushika Hokusai has never been addicted to alcohol.He was probably afraid of accidentally revealing his identity after drinking.
If it is a TV station, with this degree of possibility, it can start making programs immediately; unfortunately, doing research is another matter, and it needs to produce convincing evidence.
"Speaking of which, if you leave evidence, you can't be called a spy..." Tsuda Ryohei felt very headache.
Moreover, this hypothesis is only a very small part of Kofu Yosuke's thesis, and I am afraid that even he himself did not take it too seriously.According to Kofu Yosuke's personality, even if there is a slight possibility, he will dig out clues more seriously; or maybe he really intends to investigate deeply, but ends up regretting...
Mo Yizi took a fancy to this.
Indeed, if evidence can be found to support it, "Hokusai's secret agent theory" is definitely a topical topic.But, does doing so violate the will of the government?Tsuda was a little troubled.
"She thought too lightly, and said that even if there is no evidence, it doesn't matter."
"If Katsushika Hokusai is a secret agent..." Dong Saeko said with great interest, "He has a heavy responsibility, so how can he have time to paint those paintings? I don't know much about it, but Hokusai should have a lot of paintings, right?" ?”
"If you count the illustrations in reading books and picture books, the total number is about 30,000. It's not surprising. According to the hypothesis of Brother Guofu, Hokuzhai's job is indeed a painter. It's just that he has taken on the task of spying a few times. It's not surprising. influenced his work."
Dong Xizi's interest suddenly faded, and she said again: "Even if it is a full-time painting, 30,000 pictures are too many?"
"The number is amazing. However, Bei Zhai has 70 years of creative career. If it is spread out, it is only 420 pieces a year. This is still counting the number of small works. It is not a big deal. You think When I think about it, I now understand that the illustrations of newspaper novels have to be matched with different pictures every day, and there are many people who also take over magazine illustrations or pictures. Moreover, in terms of numbers, Guozhen or Fengguo with a shorter creative period , that’s called a large number, Guozhen can have about 70,000 pieces.”
"How many years did it take to paint?"
"About sixty years, more than a thousand sheets a year, three times that of Beizhai."
"It's amazing, how can he draw so many?"
"Of course, there are also apprentices' ghostwriting. However, unlike hand-painting, engraving drafts do not need to be colored. Moreover, even if you are lazy on the pattern of hair or kimono, the engraving master will carefully engrave it. It means that you only need to draw the face. and contours, it doesn't take much time. Of course, this is a case of being lazy."
"But... the composition should be considered by the artist, right? Compared with the face, the outline is much more troublesome."
"The composition of the illustrations in the reader or the yellow paper is specified by the author."
"Really?" Dong Saeko asked in surprise.
"Because of this matter, Beizhai and Ma Qin had quarreled countless times. The composition Ma Qin appointed was unnatural and unable to move people's hearts... However, Bei Zhai is just an example, which proves his popularity. To this extent." Ryohei Tsuda frowned, smacking his lips and said, "A painter, after all, is just a craftsman, it depends on how well the world conceived in the author's mind can be presented with painting... This is Ukiyo-e. The mission of the teacher. The whole painting is another matter, the illustration only requires technology, and there is not much need to worry about creativity."
Tsuda Ryohei has seen the reprint of the novel "Golden Straw Shoes" written by Jufansha Ichiku, and the illustrations drawn by Jufansha Ichiku himself are better than professional painters, and he is amazed by the exquisite brushwork.As a result, the painter who was entrusted with the picture was also very depressed. Although the work was easy, there was no room for the painter to create.
As long as you look at the finished product of Kitagawa Tsukimaro, who was in charge of the last illustration, you will know that he must have had a hard time.Tsukimaro just fine-tuned the lines of ten and nine, and only made use of the unspecified background or shadows.
"There is not enough time, the rest will be left to professionals..." Tsuda Ryohei seemed to have a complacent expression in front of his eyes.
"That's it, that's really simple."
Dong Saeko finally figured it out.It's just a mechanical painting, five or six pictures a day is not a problem, and thousands of pictures a year is not impossible.
"Beizhai's problem is not the quantity of creations..." Dong Saeko listened attentively, "but why he is poor."
"Beizhai is still short of money?"
"It is said that most of the research books should have explanations." Tsuda took out several books from the bookcase, opened one at random, and it read:
"This is the root of all the descriptions. It is said in the article that the relevant descriptions come from people who actually witnessed Katsushika Hokusai's life. This should be true, but Hokusai cannot be in this state all his life. Please pay attention to the At that time, Hokusai was eighty-nine years old. At this age, he should have lost interest in dressing, and it is natural to think that cleaning is troublesome. Even if he looks poor on the outside, it cannot be concluded that he really has no money. Moreover, put It is reckless to equate the situation in his later years with the life in his fifties and heyday. Hokusai has painted so many works, it is impossible for him to have no money, or someone will still be a ukiyo-e painter."
"The book says that the price of a penny is one penny...how should I calculate it?"
"Yiding is the current illustration of Kuazhen. The remuneration for such a painting is 1/2."
"How much is it worth now?"
"Around 20,000 yen."
Dong Xiezi said in surprise, "Bastard, why are you so clear?"
"I've investigated it before. It's not because of Hokusai. I'm just interested in the income of ukiyo-e artists."
As Tsuda Ryohei said, he went to the next room and rummaged through the file box.It was a mess, filled with photocopies and cut-out materials.
"This is... the price list of the culture, literature and government era (1818-1831), which happens to be the peak period of Katsushika Hokusai's creation."
On the paper Dong Saeko took over, items and prices were neatly written, which was copied by Ryohei Tsuda from the documents.
Dong Saeko is very strange.I don't know if it was accidental, but the food listed is very biased, such as eggs, eel rice, and rice cake and red bean soup, all of which Tsuda Ryohei himself particularly likes.
"It's not accidental. I don't buy rice or soy sauce often, and I don't know the current market. Relatively speaking, I still have a lot of food I like, and I choose it on purpose."
"It's quite thoughtful." Dong Saeko said with a smile.
"Now try to write the market price as far as you know below, so that you can roughly grasp what a 'one article' is. The last time I did this statistics was four or five years ago, and it may not be accurate. "
"Is it okay to write the price of the supermarket?"
"It's not a good reference to sell extremely cheap, just write the average price."
Dong Saeko nodded and started to do it.
"The price of a liter of wine is simple, but soy sauce and rice are not easy to calculate. I have never bought it by the liter... Can the small inn be regarded as a business hotel?"
"Don't worry, you can get a rough idea by weighing it."
Ryohei Tsuda went to the kitchen to use a measuring cup, took out a 1 rim of rice from the rice box, took out a weighing scale from the dressing room, put a plastic bag on it, and poured all the 1 rim of rice into the bag.
"The scale can only give you a rough idea...a liter is 1.7 kilograms, right? Our family buys rice by the kilogram?"
"It's usually ten kilograms, and it costs five thousand yen."
"That two kilograms is 1,000 yen, and 1.7 kilograms is 850 yen."
Tsuda Ryohei nodded with satisfaction, he is a character who immediately puts into practice as soon as he has an idea.Dong Saeko couldn't help smiling wryly.
"Then soy sauce too, please, I remember it comes in a liter..."
"It's done. I really don't know how many items, but it's roughly like this."
Dong Saeko handed the paper to Ryohei Tsuda. Behind the original note, the price was lightly written with a pencil for easy erasure.
Ryohei Tsuda looked at the price with great interest, but the items that could not be compared were marked as "unknown".
"It's clear at a glance. Some things that were valuable in the past are now cheaper, and on the contrary, some have become more expensive. At that time, a boiled egg was equivalent to the price of four skewers of dumplings. According to the proportion, it should sell for 320 yuan now." I can’t afford to eat it every day.”
"Even if it's cheap, no one eats it every day. It's just that Ryohei likes eggs."
"It's just an analogy. It's useless to discuss food preferences now. How can I say that there were no refrigerators at that time, and eggs were valuables, so it was only natural that they were expensive. So, you can't just because eggs cost 20 yen at that time, but now they are 50 yen, It is simply concluded that one penny is equal to two yuan and five. The same is true for rice. Modern rice production is more than sufficient, and many fields are idle and useless. It is certainly not possible to compare the Edo period with the present. It is necessary to choose items whose value is not affected by the times. Compared with modern prices Make comparisons so that you can find the right feeling."
Ryohei Tsuda asked for a pencil and circled a few lines on the list.
"Soba noodles in clear soup, dango, flounder sushi, carpenter's monthly salary, rent for a large courtyard, women's side jobs, small inn, bathhouse fees... What about tempura soba noodles and fried tofu?" Dong Saeko looked at Tsuda's circle project and asked road.
"It's different from now. At that time, the oil was very valuable, and the price of fried food was naturally higher. The same is true for desserts that use sugar, except for them."
Then, Tsuda Ryohei picked up a desktop calculator and divided the current price of the selected items by the respective market prices at that time, so that one can imagine how much Japanese yen is equivalent to a penny at that time.
"If you look at the price of soba noodles in clear soup, one penny is about 20 yen. Dumplings are 16 yen, and the monthly salary of a carpenter is 25. See, the difference is not so outrageous."
The result of the flounder sushi item is that one penny is equal to 25 yen, and the rent of the courtyard is also 25 yen.Women get 20 yen for side jobs, and 26 yen for small inns.Except for the thirty-five yen for the bathhouse fee, it turned out to be around twenty-five yen.
"Four or five years ago, it was still like 20 yen... Sure enough, modern prices are also rising."
"One penny is equal to twenty-five yen..." Dong Saeko said, sticking out her tongue with emotion, "At that time, wine was really expensive, equivalent to five thousand yen per liter. Eel rice was also nearly four thousand. Thanks to them for living."
"Who made rice so expensive? Alcohol and eel rice were luxuries at the time. Just like steak now, they are all foods that have nothing to do with basic life."
In the eyes of modern people, it is the most natural idea to use the price of rice as a basic reference to measure prices. However, if it is copied to the Edo period, I am afraid it will be quite biased.
Take bananas as an example, it will be clear at a glance.In the 20th Showa era, bananas were still valuables, and a banana cost 50 yen, but now it only costs about 40 yen.At first glance, it seems that the price has not changed much. However, the 50 yen at that time was actually quite valuable.You know, that was the era when you could drink coffee for 30 yen and eat tempura rice bowl for 80 yen.
The average daily salary of part-time workers in the 1920s was 300 yen, and they could only buy six bananas at most.If you ignore the values at the time and just say "you can only earn six bananas for a whole day", in our eyes today, it is undoubtedly a very miserable income.Six bananas are only sold for around 200 yen in the supermarket. This kind of income is not enough to put between the teeth for a person who works all day.
It's ridiculous to say, but it is precisely because some people really do this comparison in reality that it will lead to confusion.If you write "Even a piece of work by a great painter can't be exchanged for a few dollars, it's just a meager income that can buy three and a half liters of rice", most of the people will definitely nod.Now a liter of rice is worth 850 yen, and three and a half liters is less than 3,000 yen. As far as the remuneration of a great painter is concerned, it is really shabby.
So, what if it is restored to the price "wen" at that time?Just like the number listed on the list, if one liter of rice requires one hundred and fifty wen, three and a half liters is five hundred and twenty-five wen.According to the conversion of one penny to twenty-five yen, it turned out to be as high as more than thirteen thousand yen.A painting is worth the price, no one will say less.
But here's the point: the price of rice fluctuates extremely violently.During the Tianbao (1831-1845) years of continuous famine, the highest price of a liter of rice could reach 250 cash.However, the cost of going to the bathhouse and getting a haircut did not fluctuate much in each period. It can be seen that it is a very dangerous judgment to use the price of rice as the benchmark for measuring prices.
"Okay...it's finally time to calculate Hokusai's painting fee." Ryohei Tsuda took notes.
1 tael = 4 points = 16 Zhu
1 tael = 6500 text
1 tael = 60 silver coins
1 匁 = 108 words
"Keep these equations in mind, or you will be confused."
Dong Xiezi looked at the note and asked in surprise: "One and two two cents is equal to... 1.5 times of 6,500 Wen?"
"I didn't expect you to learn so fast. It seems that there is no problem." Ryohei Tsuda rummaged through the information, "It is also written in "The Story of Hokusai". A double-page illustration is worth one point, which is 6,500 A quarter of the text is equivalent to 1,625 texts. Other sources say that a piece of brocade painting is ten gongs, so it should be 1,080 texts. The colored hand-painted also says ten gongs, However, the price is too low, and it's about the same for a small sketch. On average, the lowest price for a hand-painted painting should be around 20 silver coins, which is twice as expensive as a brocade painting, and can be worth 2,160 renminbi. "
Dong Saeko quickly confirmed Tsuda Ryohei's calculations with a calculator.
"According to the calculation that one article is equal to 25 yen just now, the unit price of illustrations is 40,625 yen, brocade painting is 27,000 yen, and hand-painting is 54,000 yen... This is a lot of money!"
Even Tsuda Ryohei himself was taken aback by this figure.
"I'm afraid you've forgotten, let me remind you that this is the price quoted by Katsushika Hokusai in his heyday. It's the upper limit of the remuneration. Naturally, there are cheaper periods. Considering it comprehensively, add up the unit prices of illustrations, brocade paintings, and hand-painting to get rid of the price." Take the average value of three and multiply it by three-quarters, which is probably a relatively safe salary for Hokuzhai's entire creative career."
"Calculating one painting, you can get an average of 30,406 yen. It's hard to say whether it's high or low."
"The unit price is really so-so. Next, I want to calculate Hokusai's total income. You must know that he has more than 30,000 works handed down."
"It's 30,000 yuan...it's amazing, 900 million is more!..." Dong Xiezi smacked his lips and sighed, "Just now he said that his creative career is 70 years, converted into an annual income..." Dong Xiezi Saeko lowered her head to press the calculator, "Oh, that's all?"
The value displayed on the calculator was slightly more than 13 million.
"Although he is not poor, he is not very rich either. Of course, we cannot be compared with him."
Facing the figure of "900 million", Dong Xiezi, who had calculated excitedly, was disappointed.
"You are misled by the figures. On average, each year is indeed just passable. However, before Beizhai became famous, he had almost no income. Most of the 900 million people earned between the ages of forty and sixty. Arrived. In his heyday, he had 700 or 800 paintings a year, and the unit price of each piece was also high, at least from 40,000 yen. If you take the step price and multiply it by 800, the annual income will be 3,000 Two million. You must know that this momentum has lasted for more than 30 years rather than just three or four years. For this sake, if anyone still says that Bei Zhai is poor, I would like to see it.”
"I have maintained an annual income of 32 million for thirty years. I really have nothing to say..." Dong Xiezi sighed with his eyes open, "Oh, using this number alone, isn't it more than one billion?"
"So, he actually has an income of more than one billion yuan. Among the works of Hokusai, "Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji", which we are most familiar with, was published at the end of Wenzheng period. At that time, he was nearly seventy years old. Naturally, this set of works was a huge success. Hokusai is a painter who has been at his peak for a long time."
Dong Xiezi unconsciously sighed, thinking to himself that the phrase "extremely poor" is really questionable.
"Assuming that Hokusai is not poor... so what? Is there anything unnatural?"
"It may be that the biography is wrong, or it may be that Bei Zhai deliberately deceived people, or that he has a reason to become poor."
"The reason for becoming poor?" Dong Xiezi tilted his head with a strange look.
"For example, women's sex. All kinds of data show that he has nothing to do with luxury, and he can't think of other reasons other than throwing money at women. However, I don't think: Hokusai will be addicted to women's sex , can't help it; he hates drinking, which is a big reason, and if he is a person who wants to have fun, there should be rumors about it. Besides, looking at Beizhai's beauties, although they are beautiful, they are not as good as Compared with Yingquan and Utamaro, they are too inferior, they are completely dull and vulgar works without aura. Hokusai should be the most unsuitable painter of such adjectives as romantic and sentimental in the world."
"However, the more serious a person is, the easier it is to indulge in this kind of fun? Just because the women in Hokusai's paintings are rustic, you can't say that he's not good at women. Pleasure-seeking and artistic creation are two different things."
"What do you think is the biggest feature of Hokusai's works?" Tsuda Ryohei asked suddenly, Dong Saeko was momentarily at a loss for words.
"It's a keen observation ability. At that time, there was no painter who could observe the subject of the painting carefully like Hokusai. Just look at "Hokusai Manga" to appreciate his sketching skills. It can be described as a camera. I I think that even if he lacks romantic taste in character, he can still faithfully present the characters in front of him on the drawing paper. The reason why his beauty paintings are not high is not that he feels flawed, but that he is simply not interested in the subjects he paints. Hobbies. After all, Beizhai has nothing to do with the world of debauchery."
Dong Xiezi thought hard: "Then...then, what reason would there be?"
Tsuda Ryohei suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and murmured, "Maybe... he was blackmailed?"
"Another bold opinion..." Dong Xiezi was dumbfounded, "Is there any basis?"
"Not at all. Although not, there are too many mysteries in Beizhai's life, and there is no way to explain it if I don't think so. In the past, I would definitely deny any blackmail from the bottom of my heart, and I wouldn't even have the energy to investigate... However, in order to sort out Hokusai’s spy theory, we must fundamentally re-examine it, and it is impossible to keep up with the theme of this time without changing our thinking. Brother Guofu told me that a bold hypothesis should be matched with a bold imagination. When common sense is tied up, it can only stay where it is.”
Even though he was wondering whether Sara would be the painter of Akita Ranhua, at the same time, Tsuda Ryohei laughed at himself for thinking wildly.Kofu Yosuke once advised him to forget his identity as a researcher, so as not to be bound by half-baked knowledge and limit his thinking.
Abandon existing knowledge and gain new perspectives.Don't rush to imagine the answer either, the question should be asked first, that's what matters.
"Brother Guofu is really amazing."
"But, it's you Ryohei who solved the mystery of Saura, brother, you don't feel back pain when you stand up and talk."
"It doesn't matter if it's useless work. Brother Guofu left such an interesting proposition. I don't want to test it from the perspective of a researcher, but from the perspective of a supporter. I have a hunch that once I believe what the spy said, I will Seeing new possibilities."
Dong Saeko also nodded vigorously.She also knows: Tsuda Ryohei's remarks have deviated from the researchers' principles, but you can't frame yourself because you don't have data, so there will never be progress.It is not a bad thing to have a researcher who dares to jump out of the stereotypes.
"That is to say, there must be a result. Even if it is the hypothesis of Brother Guofu, I will only add it when there is evidence. If Ms. Moyizi does not accept it, let her keep Brother Guofu The original manuscript has been printed as it is. This is not a novel, even if readers are willing to read it, they can’t make it up.”
Still being prudent and bold coexistence, due to his personality, the elder brother and Ryohei often collided head-on.
Even Yosuke Kokufu, the eldest brother, probably never thought that Beizhai was rich, and this would definitely become the key to the spies' talk, Dong Saeko secretly believed.
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